CLEVELAND — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says reliable transportation is a major barrier when it comes to refugee success. A group of high schoolers at Shaker Heights High School is trying to tackle this issue through a bicycle repair club. 

What You Need To Know

The club has repaired over 20 bicycles for Cleveland’s refugee community

Students walk away with new skills and a greater appreciation for the real-world applications of STEM

The bicycle parts are sourced through community donations

Cormac Benard, a founding member of the club, is the driving force behind the club’s success. 

“None of us students really knew what was going on,” Benard said. “For a couple months, we were just on our own and we would use like a YouTube video.”

Science teacher Bill Scanlon oversees the club. 

“[Benard] basically tells the other kids, ‘here’s how you fix this, here’s how you do this,’” Scanlon said. “And, he’s teaching them.”

Students walk away from the club with new skills.

“They’re learning bike mechanic skills, and they’re learning physics of bikes, which I teach physics so I like that, but they’re learning about gears and about lubrication and what it takes to fix a bike,” Scanlon said. 

The work is also inspiring students to pursue fields in STEM. 

“I’m going into STEM because of this club,” Benard said. “I just really like how all the parts work together. I like how to figure out problems. So, I just looked into engineering and it seemed like that was a good way to get the same experience, the same as problem solving.”

However, the club isn’t just impacting students – it’s helping Cleveland’s refugee community. 

“Once the bikes are up and ready and we have a load of about 6 to 8 of them, we take them in a van and we deliver them to refugee families,” Scanlon said. “…Every refugee family that we’ve given bikes to has been really appreciative.”

The students are able to see their impact firsthand. 

“It was really cool just giving the kids the bikes and seeing how happy they were,” Benard said.

In the last two years, the club has given away over 20 bicycles.